Floor tiles are generally laid first in open areas of a floor and are then cut to fit gaps that occur along walls or around obstacles. Many tile marking devices have been proposed for marking tiles to be cut to fit into the resulting gaps. These generally measure a gap and then mark the measurement on a tile, proceeding one tile at a time. A manual method positions a whole tile upside down against a wall or obstruction so that the whole tile overlaps a laid tile, and then a mark is made along the laid tile for a portion of the whole tile to be cut away and turned right side up to fit into the gap. All of these systems mark one tile at a time using procedures that are inconvenient and slow.
Embodiments disclosed herein aim at a faster and more efficient way of marking tiles to fit accurately within gaps between laid tiles and walls or obstructions. Embodiments also cut tiles to be laid directly, rather than first drawing or scratching a profile and then cutting. Embodiments aim at simplicity, low cost, convenience, and accuracy in quickly accomplishing the marking of tiles so they can be cut to fit whatever gap remains to be filled with the pieces along walls or in corners.
The inventive system as illustrated by embodiments disclosed herein begins by positioning whole tiles on top of laid tiles, either individually or along rows of laid tiles. In doing so, embodiments apply to tiles of vinyl, ceramic, and other materials. A marking device having a probe and a marking element separated from the probe by a tile width is moved along a single tile or preferably along a whole row of tile. Marking element here encompasses drawing elements, such as pens, markers, pencils, paintbrushes, and chalk, scratching elements, such as knives and abrasive elements, and cutting elements, such as saws, lasers, and other tools used for cutting tile. As the probe follows a wall or obstruction, the marking element, which is spaced a tile width away from the probe, marks the tile or tiles along a line parallel with and spaced from the wall or obstruction. The marked tiles can then be cut along the marked line, and the cut off pieces will fit accurately into the space between the laid tiles and the wall or obstruction. Alternatively, where the marking element is a cutting element, it cuts the tile parallel with and spaced from the wall or obstruction so that the cut tile will fit into the space between the laid tiles and the wall or obstruction.
A preferred way of accomplishing this is with a base that includes a fence that can guide along the edges of laid tiles and the superposed tiles. The base also includes a spring that lightly presses the probe away from the fence to contact and stay engaged with a wall or obstruction as the base moves along, the superposed whole tiles are restrained by the fence from moving toward the wall or obstruction, and a board or straight edge can be laid along the edge of the superposed tiles opposite the wall to keep the superposed tiles from moving as the base slides along the tile edges. The marking tool can be moved by hand, or a handle extending upward from the base can facilitate the movement along the tile row. The result is then a whole row of tiles accurately marked to fit a gap between laid tiles and a wall or obstruction. The tile marking accomplished this way can automatically follow variations in gap dimensions between the laid tiles and a wall or obstruction.
A special arrangement allows the marking device to mark a corner tile so that it can fit into a corner gap between two walls or between a wall and an obstruction.